Home Office

Immigration: Afghanistan

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2021 to Question 81078 on the revised policy on overseas fee waivers, whether any urgent applications have been granted a fee waiver since the policy was suspended pending revision.

Kevin Foster: Some urgent applications have been granted. The data on this is locally held, unverified and therefore not suitable for publication.

Department of Health and Social Care

Hospital Beds

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the trend in the level of bed capacity in NHS England over the last two years; and whether there has been an increase in bed capacity in that period in response to covid-19 and tackling backlogs.

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to increase bed numbers in NHS England hospitals over the next two years.

Edward Argar: No formal assessment has been made of the trend in the level of bed capacity in the National Health Service (NHS) in England over the last two years. The number of beds in hospitals in the NHS in England is an operational matter for the NHS. NHS bed capacity is not fixed and can be flexed to meet changes in demand, including for COVID-19.Over the last two years, during the pandemic, a number of measures have been put in place to support an increase in the number of available beds in the NHS, particularly to create capacity to treat COVID-19 patients. NHS England and NHS Improvement is undertaking the largest ever seasonal flu vaccination programme, alongside COVID-19 booster vaccinations, to reduce the level of hospital admissions and to free up additional hospital beds. The Government has also provided an additional £478 million to the NHS for this financial year to continue the enhanced hospital discharge programme, helping patients get home from hospital as soon as possible, and freeing up additional beds. This also applies to elective care, with a move towards more operations being done on an outpatient basis, removing the need for patients to stay overnight in hospital, freeing up beds as well as tackling backlogs.

Hospitals: Shropshire

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has funding for the building of a new hospital in Shropshire.

Edward Argar: As part of the Spending Review settlement, we have secured £1.7 billion multi-year funding until 2024-25 for over 70 hospital upgrades. Once the Full Business Case for the new hospital in Shropshire has been developed and approved, full funding for the build will be provided, subject to the usual approval procedures.

Question

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to work with NICE to ensure that NICE committees (a) are accountable and (b) adequately consider patient testimony.

Edward Argar: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is responsible for the methods and processes it uses in developing its guidance. Patients are represented on NICE’s committees and patient groups and are able to register as stakeholders in the development of guidance and comment on its recommendations.NICE is currently reviewing its methods and processes for developing recommendations on new technologies, including its processes for patient involvement.

Joint Replacements: Coronavirus

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the backlog on joint replacement surgery resulting from the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: No formal assessment has been made as this data is not collected in the format requested.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Admissions

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the November 2021 Royal College of Emergency Medicine Acute Insight Series, Crowding and its Consequences, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the estimate published in that report that there were at least 4519 excess deaths caused by crowding in accident and emergency departments in 2020-21; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: No such assessment has been made.NHS England and NHS Improvement led detailed operational level winter planning with providers, regions and stakeholders and set out actions to support improved emergency care performance and patient flow through hospitals, supported by £5.4 billion of additional funding. This includes a new Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Unit to coordinate support for the most challenged systems and £478 million for the enhanced patient discharge programme, to increase bed capacity and reduce crowding in accident and emergency departments.

London Ambulance Service NHS Trust: Finance

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to increase funding to London Ambulance Service to help improve the performance of ambulance response times.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) help improve recruitment to London Ambulance Service and (b) protect retention levels for London Ambulance Service staff.

Edward Argar: In addition to the funding allocated to the London Ambulance Service (LAS) in the first half of this year, the service will receive an additional £30 million to meet increased demand. LAS is implementing a workforce programme which includes increasing the number of frontline staff by 400 whole time equivalents through recruitment and retention activity.NHS England and NHS Improvement have provided ambulance trusts with an extra £55 million to increase staff numbers to supplement capacity in control rooms and the frontline and has invested £1.75 million to support the wellbeing of ambulance staff.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of prescription charges for people with asthma on their health outcomes.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with Asthma UK on the impact of prescription charges on people with asthma.

Edward Argar: We have had no specific discussions or made such an assessment. However, the impact assessment published alongside the consultation on aligning the upper age for prescription charge exemptions with the state pension age discusses the potential impacts on those with disabilities and long term conditions not listed as medical exemptions, including asthma. The impact assessment is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/aligning-the-upper-age-for-nhs-prescription-charge-exemptions-with-the-state-pension-ageApproximately 89% of prescriptions are already dispensed free of charge. To support those who do not qualify for an exemption, the cost of prescriptions can be capped by purchasing a prescription pre-payment certificate, which can be paid for in instalments. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just over £2 per week.

Cardiovascular Diseases: Health Services

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the number of patients with heart and circulatory disease who have been unable to access care and are not represented on waiting lists since the outbreak of covid-19.

Edward Argar: We have made no formal assessment.

Medical Equipment: Racial Discrimination

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of deaths that could be attributed to racial bias in medical equipment during the covid-19 outbreak.

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle racial bias in medical equipment.

Edward Argar: The Department has made no specific estimate. However, a review is being conducted to understand the nature of issues, inaccuracies and risk in existing devices, determine whether actions are necessary and analyse evidence on potential issues in oximeters. This will include an independent review to start next year.

Ambulance Services: Vacancies

Ed Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of vacancies there are (a) in total, (b) for qualified paramedics and (c) for trained ambulance drivers in each Ambulance Service NHS Trust in England; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: No such estimate has been made as the information is not held in the format requested.

Hospitals: Finance

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional support his Department is providing to hospitals in the winter months to assist with additional pressures in (a) Slough, (b) the South East and (c) England.

Edward Argar: In the South East, including Slough, NHS England and NHS Improvement are investing £61.1 million capital funding to support the delivery of inpatient elective treatment alongside urgent and emergency care; additional revenue funding to support outsourcing and insourcing with the independent sector; supplying emergency care intensive support to trusts following visits by regional teams; and the provision of guidance regarding best practice for dealing with additional winter pressures.Nationally, NHS England and NHS Improvement have led detailed operational level winter planning with providers, regions and stakeholders and is implementing its Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery 10 Point Action Plan. This sets out actions to support improved emergency care performance and patient flow through hospitals. This includes enhanced monitoring and support to systems and providers such as a new Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Unit to coordinate support for the most challenged systems.We have provided an additional £5.4 billion to support the National Health Service response to COVID-19 in the second half of 2021/22. This includes an extra £1 billion to tackle the treatment backlog and £478 million for the enhanced hospital discharge programme to increase bed capacity. We are investing more than £34 billion in total this year to help health and social care services deal with the additional demands of the pandemic.

NHS: Parking

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of NHS staff who have received parking fines while attending their place of work.

Edward Argar: No recent estimate has been made. In March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government committed to provide free hospital car parking for National Health Service staff on National Health Service sites during the pandemic. As this policy currently remains in place, no fines should have been issued to NHS staff using hospital car parks since March 2020.

Hospitals

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what risks to (a) patients and (b) NHS staff his Department has identified as a result of the additional pressures on hospitals during the winter months in (i) Slough, (ii) the South East and (iii) England.

Edward Argar: NHS England and NHS Improvement advise that a range of risks to patients and National Health Service staff in Slough, the South East and England have been identified. These include increasing levels of escalation to prioritise activity and caseloads; increasing accident and emergency attendances and mental health presentations at emergency departments; ambulance handover delays; discharge delays resulting in the postponement of elective activity; and workforce fatigue and absence.

Travel: Coronavirus

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the context of Spain’s change in vaccination status requirements for incoming travellers of 1 December 2021, what steps his Department is taking to expedite the creation of the NHS COVID Pass travel letter programme to facilitate travel by 12 to 16 year olds who cannot otherwise show their covid-19 vaccination status.

Maggie Throup: As of 13 December, the travel NHS COVID Pass letter is available for people aged between 12-15 who are fully vaccinated. A digital solution for 12-15 year olds to access their NHS COVID Pass is expected in early 2022. The travel NHS COVID Pass (digital and non-digital) is also available for individuals aged 16 and over.

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2021 to Question 79399 on Coronavirus: Protective Clothing, which four contracts for personal protective equipment referred through the high priority lane were subject to the eight stage assurance process.

Edward Argar: There were 111 contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) awarded to 50 suppliers referred through the high priority lane. Some suppliers were awarded more than one contract.In our previous response of 25 November, we stated that 46 of these contracts were awarded before the introduction of a central clearance board on 4 May 2020. The central clearance board examined individual contracts which were being agreed. Sixty five contracts were awarded to suppliers after this date. The suppliers and the number of contracts awarded to each supplier is shown in the following table.SupplierNumber of contracts awarded after 4 May 2020Meller Designs5Aiya Technology Hk Limited3KPM Marine1MDS Healthcare2P1F Limited7Pestfix2Aventis Solutions Ltd1Cargo Services Far East3URATHON EUROPE LTD2Unispace Global Ltd5Universal Solutions Trading Limited3Uniserve2Pakan Medical2Headwind China Ltd1Monarch Acoustics Limited1Invisio Pharmaceuticals2New Asia Logistic Services Pte Ltd1P14 Medical1Blueleaf Care1Ideal Medical Solutions1SG Recruitment1Skinny Dip1PPE Medpro Limited2Brandology2Worldlink Resources Limited1Summit Medical Ltd1Wuhan Xiaoyaoyao Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd1Maxima Markets Limited1Eyespace Eyewear Limited1Mayfair Global (UK) Ltd1The Paper Drinking Straw Co Ltd.1Hotel Logistics Ltd2GBUK LTD1CCS McClays1Regal Polythene1Medicom1

Department of Health and Social Care: Meller Group

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what Freedom of Information requests his Department has received in respect of correspondence and records of meetings between the former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Innovation, Lord Feldman, and Meller Designs Limited; when those requests were submitted; whether his Department plans to respond with the information requested; and if he will place a copy of those responses in the Library.

Edward Argar: The Department has received two relevant Freedom of Information requests. The first was received on 2 March 2021 and responded to on 30 March 2021.The second was received on 28 June 2021 and is being considered for release. We aim to answer it as soon as possible. Copies of both requests and the response to the request of 2 March is attached.Freedom of Information Request received on 2 March (docx, 19.0KB)Freedom of Information Request responce  (pdf, 1647.4KB)

Social Services: Finance

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of analysis by the Alzheimer's Society that the adult social care sector will need at least £3.9 billion per annum to maintain current standards and keep up with demographic changes and changes to the National Living Wage.

Gillian Keegan: The provisional local Government finance settlement proposes making available over £1 billion of additional resource to local authorities specifically for social care in 2022-23. Councils will also have access to funding from grant covering all services, including the 2022-23 Services Grant, and from council tax to meet the inflationary and demographic pressures facing social care.In addition to this increased local Government funding, the Government will provide £5.4 billion over 2022-23 to 2024-25 for adult social care reform. The funding available to councils means overall local Government spending will increase by 4%, including the investment in adult social care reform.No assessment has been made of the figure quoted by the Alzheimer’s Society. Local Government finance settlement provides funding to allow councils to increase their spending on the vital public services they provide, such as adult social care, and will ensure those services can respond effectively to rising demand and cost pressures.

Carers: West Dorset

Chris Loder: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of unpaid carers living in West Dorset.

Gillian Keegan: The Department does not collect information about the number of unpaid carers, including those living in West Dorset.

Dementia

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Dementia Strategy in the People at the heart of care: adult social care reform White Paper, what budget will be allocated to the delivery of the Dementia Strategy.

Gillian Keegan: We will be setting out our plans on dementia for England for future years in 2022. We are currently working with stakeholders and have established task and finish groups to develop the strategy. We will consider the funding implications as part of forthcoming business planning for the next financial year.

Coronavirus: Drugs

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list the drugs the NHS can use to treat covid-19 patients.

Maggie Throup: The following therapeutics are available to patients hospitalised with COVID-19 and in the community setting:- Dexamethasone;- Tocilizumab;- Ronapreve; and- Sotrovimab. The following antivirals are available to patients in both hospital and community settings:- Remdesivir;- Molnupiravir; and- PF-07321332

Hospitals: Shropshire

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the recent Care Quality Commission inspection of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of single site acute hospital provision for Telford and Wrekin and the county of Shropshire.

Edward Argar: The reconfiguration of services, including a single site acute hospital, would be for the local commissioning body to propose. Under current proposals and following a decision made by the previous Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Rt hon. Matt Hancock MP) after advice from the Independent Reconfiguration Panel, accident and emergency services are to be consolidated onto the Shrewsbury site and a 24 hours a day, seven days a week urgent care model will be provided from the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.

Department of Health and Social Care: Meetings

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department’s process is for (a) recording and (b) keeping minutes of all meetings relating to Government business.

Edward Argar: Formal, structured meetings are usually minuted. Guidance is available to help officials meet their obligation under the Civil Service Code to ‘keep accurate official records’, which includes making records of decisions and actions that take place in meetings.Specific procedures are in place for external meetings involving ministers in ‘Guidance on the management of Private Office Papers’, which is available at the following link:https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/popapersguidance2009.pdf

Members' Interests

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to his Oral Answer of 25 November 2021 to the Right Honourable Member for Ashton under Lyne, whether the National Audit Office has been provided the minutes of the meeting between Lord Bethell, Randox and the former Right Honourable Member for North Shropshire.

Edward Argar: The National Audit Office has not been provided the minutes of this meeting.

General Practitioners: Coronavirus

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of GPs who have refused to receive a covid-19 vaccination.

Edward Argar: No estimate has been made as this data is not currently collected. NHS England and NHS Improvement are considering options for collecting data on vaccination uptake among general practitioners and wider staff groups in primary care in light of plans to make the COVID-19 vaccination compulsory as a condition of deployment. Subject to Parliamentary approval, this will come into force on 1 April 2022.

Department of Health and Social Care: Meetings

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department takes to ensure that at least one official from his Department is present during all (a) meetings and (b) phone calls relating to Government business between Ministers and third parties.

Edward Argar: The Department operates in line with the Ministerial Code which states at 8.14 that “a private secretary or official should be present for all discussions relating to Government business. If a Minister meets an external organisation or individual and finds themselves discussing official business without an official present… any significant content should be fed back to the department as soon as possible”.

Coronavirus: Screening

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish data on the number of covid-19  (a) tests delivered and (b) patients referred to each genomic laboratory hub in the 12 months for which that data is available.

Maggie Throup: From 14 November 2020 to 14 November 2021 a total of 306,675,071 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and lateral flow device tests for COVID-19 were conducted. The number of patients whose PCR tests were referred to each individual genomic laboratory hub is not held centrally.

Department of Health and Social Care: Meller Group

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds a minute of the meeting held on 6 April 2020 between the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Innovation and Meller Designs Limited regarding PPE; and who attended that meeting on behalf of (a) his Department and (b) Meller Designs Limited.

Edward Argar: The Department does hold a minute of this meeting, which was attended by the former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord Bethell), Departmental officials and David Meller.

Department of Health and Social Care: Telephone Services

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's process is for (a) recording and (b) keeping minutes of phone calls relating to Government business made by Government ministers and officials.

Edward Argar: Formal, structured meetings are usually minuted. Guidance is available to help officials meet their obligation under the Civil Service Code to ‘keep accurate official records’, which includes making records of decisions and actions that take place in meetings.Specific procedures are in place for external meetings involving ministers in ‘Guidance on the management of Private Office Papers’, which is available at the following link:https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/popapersguidance2009.pdf

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of adding medications related to (a) asthma, (b) depression, (c) heart disease, (d) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and (e) hypertension to the NHS prescription charge exemption list.

Edward Argar: No assessment has been made. We currently have no plans to review or extend the National Health Service prescription charge medical exemption list to include asthma, depression, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or hypertension.Extensive arrangements are in already place to help people afford NHS prescriptions, including a range of exemptions relating to age, income or a medical condition for which people may already qualify. Approximately 89% of NHS prescription items are dispensed in the community free of charge. To support those who do not qualify for an exemption, the cost of prescriptions can be capped by purchasing a prescription pre-payment certificate, which can be paid for in instalments. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just over £2 per week.

Department for Work and Pensions

Work Capability Assessment

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2021 to Question 80405 on Work Capability Assessment, whether her Department has plans to start capturing that data.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2021 to Question 80405 Work Capability Assessment, for what reason her Department does not hold that data.

Chloe Smith: The number of outstanding WCA referrals made to the assessment provider, as of 5 December 2021, was 336,100. The reason why the data requested by the original question is not held, is that this is not a backlog. There will always be outstanding referrals in the assessment process, from those claimants who have been asked to return a Capability for Work questionnaire and have yet to do so, through to those with an assessment scheduled in the coming weeks. The Department closely monitors the levels of outstanding referrals. Not all these cases will require the claimant to attend an assessment. Where there is already sufficient evidence to determine benefit entitlement, claims will be assessed on a paper basis. The number of referrals where the paper evidence has been reviewed by a Healthcare Professional and the claimant is either waiting for an assessment to be scheduled, or already has one scheduled, as of 5th December 2021, was 231,200.Please note:This figure has been rounded to the nearest 100The above data is derived from contractual management information produced by the assessment providers.The above data is derived from unpublished management information which is collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.

Cabinet Office

10 and 11 Downing Street: Air Conditioning

Layla Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many air filtration systems have been installed in Number 10 and Number 11 Downing Street since March 2020; which rooms those systems have been installed in; and when they were installed.

Layla Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the cost of installing air filtration systems in Number 10 and Number 11 Downing Street since March 2020.

Michael Ellis: The Cabinet Office, which includes the buildings in Downing Street, follows the appropriate Working Safely During Coronavirus guidance. This includes consideration of ventilation as part of any risk assessment. The HSE also provides guidance on this issue. Air filtration units are one option (not a requirement) that may be used as a mitigation where it is not possible to improve poorly ventilated areas. In that light, the Cabinet Office has not deemed it necessary, at this time, to install such systems. We will keep this matter under review.

10 Downing Street: Catering

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what catering or hospitality services are available for social events in 10 Downing Street; and what the total cost to the public purse was of catering and hospitality for events in 10 Downing Street during December 2020.

Michael Ellis: Cabinet Office transparency spending data by month can be found on GOV.UK.

10 Downing Street

Angela Rayner: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Prime Minister's Oral Answers of 8 December 2021 to the Rt hon. Member for Holborn and St Pancras, what materials have been provided to the Metropolitan Police in relation to events in 10 Downing Street during 2020.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Prime Minister's oral answers of 8 December 2021 to the Rt hon. Member for Holborn and St Pancras, what (a) terms of reference and (b) deadline has he set the Cabinet Secretary for his investigation; and whether he has power to compel Ministers and special advisers to provide evidence.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether a room within a Cabinet Office building was used for a Christmas quiz during December 2020.

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Answers of 8 December 2021 to the Rt hon. Member for Holborn and St Pancras, whether the Cabinet Secretary will be provided access to (a) CCTV, (b) electronic entry, (c) email, (d) phone, (e) diary, (f) invitation and (g) WhatsApp records for purposes of his investigation into alleged events within Government properties during the covid-19 outbreak.

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, which gatherings are currently under investigation by the Cabinet Secretary as of 9 December 2021.

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the scope of the Cabinet Secretary's investigation into social events in Downing Street will include the costs to the public purse of any catering and alcohol supplied for the attendees.

Michael Ellis: The Terms of Reference for the Cabinet Office’s investigations into staff gatherings have been published on GOV.UK and deposited in the libraries of both Houses. It would not be appropriate to comment on the specifics of an ongoing process. The Government has committed that the findings of the investigations will be made public in due course.

Cabinet Office: Buildings

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any social events took place between three or more people within his Departmental buildings between (a) 5 November 2020 and 1 December 2020 and (b) 16 December 2020 and 22 February 2021.

Michael Ellis: This information is not collected. At the time, staff were expected to work from home and undertake meetings remotely wherever possible. The Cabinet Office's investigations, led by the Second Permanent Secretary, will establish the facts surrounding allegations made of a gathering in No10 Downing Street on 27 November 2020 and on 18 December 2020. Where there are credible allegations relating to other gatherings, these may also be investigated.

10 Downing Street

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the entry and exit logs for No. 10 Downing Street on the 18 and 19 December 2020.

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people were present within Number 10 Downing Street on (a) 18 December 2021 at (i) 4pm, (ii) 6pm, (iii) 10pm and (b) 19 December 2021 at (A) 12am and (B) 2am.

Michael Ellis: Reflecting the security practices of successive administrations, Downing Street does not publish information on details of visitors admitted to No.10 Downing Street. Details of formal meetings with external organisations are published on GOV.UK.

Prime Minister: Correspondence

Angela Rayner: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department’s guidance to Ministers requires the retention of correspondence from the Prime Minister in his official capacity.

Michael Ellis: There are appropriate arrangements and guidance in place for the management of formal Ministerial correspondence - for example, incoming and outgoing letters.